Up-to-the minute updates and insights from the Red Wings locker room at home and on the road. By Chuck Pleiness of The Macomb Daily.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Ozzie gets the start

Chris Osgood will start Game 5, Friday.

Asked whether Osgood will be the Red Wings' netminder for the remainder of the playoffs, coach Mike Babcock laughed and said, "Just win baby."

More Babcock: "The puck didn't hit him (Hasek) in Nashville. The bottom line is we've done this all year long. Ozzie's been very good for us. I thought Ozzie played well. So that's what we're doing. I just told Dom to get on the ice, get some work done, get your game back. We plan on having a long run here, so be ready.""Plan B is Chris Osgood and he won 29 games and had the best goals-against average in the NHL, didn't he."

Dominik Hasek: "Tomorrow is an important game and Ozzie's going to be in. I don't want to look too far ahead. Now is Ozzie's time. We'll see how we play and what's going to happen."Through the whole season, Ozzie's record and my record are winning records. It worked very well."

Osgood: "There's a lot of games if you go all the way. There's two months of playing. I always thought somewhere along the line I'd be used if there were back-to-back games or if we play a team where there's a lot of travel. I always wanted to give him (Babcock) the option to use me if he needed."

Babcock said there might be changes made to the lineup, including the forwards."There might be," said Babcock. "I'm going to sleep on that one more night."